endings

jerrymouse · Jun 11, 2007

i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings. i must be the latter.

how do you guys deal with endings? do you have yuor ending before you write the begining or do you "discover" it along the way?

travelgal · Jun 11, 2007

Uncle JIm said the beginning is where the door hits the MC on the backside and he can't turn back, but beginnings are a headache.

So I have to know what the ending will be before starting. The setting, the mood, what the MC is doing. I have to know what the middle bits are before I start. Not too much detail; just enough so I won't get lost in the Big Middle-slump Swamp. Then I work out how he gets into the middle-bit-of-the-book situation/s. Once done, I start typing the story, although I start the story too early, and end up cutting out a chapter or two.

I don't outline, do character profiles, etc. I let the story stew in my head for a few months before typing.

What about you?

glassquill · Jun 11, 2007

Endings? Can't say that I've ever got that far as yet in all my years of writing. :tongue

But I'm hoping to break that record with my current WIP.

Actually, I have a vague idea of how it should end. The beginning is already taken care of, more or less. It's the middle that's the headache for me. For me, endings don't bother me all that much. I have a destination in mind. Getting there is a different kettle of fish.

jerrymouse · Jun 11, 2007

after writing organicaly for a few attempt i am now trying the planned to death method. i have become lost in the middle too many times. now i want the ending before i start.
my curent project is at the stage of a well developed plan. i have detailed chr profiles, interviews and monologues and a scene by scene plot. all i need to do before i start writing the story is to decide on an ending.

http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/column/kress/success_endings.asp

this was interesting.

Stijn Hommes · Jun 11, 2007

I usually know the beginning and the ending up front. It's the middle that trips me up. Though, the ending often takes a stab at annoying me too.

Garpy · Jun 11, 2007

Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.

The book I'm writing right now is a big ol' swamp once more. A lot of issues, a lot of characters, a concept that's a little weird and hard to pitch, and to make matters worse, I'm not sure this time round what my ending's going to be.

glendalough · Jun 11, 2007

jerrymouse said:
i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings. i must be the latter.

how do you guys deal with endings? do you have yuor ending before you write the begining or do you "discover" it along the way?

I guess I hate endings. I need to add that it's due to rewrites after a final word count. My current book ended probably several thousand short, but it was DONE in every way. So I went back and added things and just like with previous books, added to the ending.

Now my ending is not nearly as perfect as it was and I think I hate it.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 11, 2007

Endings

I like endings. If the beginning is properly written, the ending takes care of itself.

johnzakour · Jun 11, 2007

For the me the middle is the slow going....

ccarver30 · Jun 11, 2007

I hate endings.

Namatu · Jun 11, 2007

I don't mind endings. It's the middles that threaten to drown me.

Death Wizard · Jun 11, 2007

Writing the ending is by far my favorite part of the process. It's what makes all the time and effort worthwhile to me. Also, I know in advance how it's going to end, plotwise, but not the specific wording.

cleverpancake · Jun 11, 2007

I had such a fantastic ending for this WIP, planned and beautiful, but then I had a better one which was discovered, and then I had an epiphany including the Best Ending Ever (tm). It's the next 10,000 words (getting to it) that will threaten my sanity.

But I did meet a really cool dog on the way.

JamieFord · Jun 11, 2007

My ending is my motivation to finish. I have to have it worked out in my mind because it becomes my motivation to write. Everything else is just about finding ways to trip up and torment my protagonist along the way.

Penguin Queen · Jun 11, 2007

Garpy said:
Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.

Exactly like that. Beginnings are exciting, when you get towards the end it is exciting. The middle is a swamp, and I have to push myself through it.
If I dont know what the ending is towards which I am writing, I dont think I oculd finish anything. Quite often the end is the first thing I get for a new story, and then I start plotting the story backwards.

I love reading about how everybody does it differently, though.

Shady Lane · Jun 11, 2007

Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.

Yep.

The middle's where I get down to about 300/400 words a day, dredging them all out of my head, questioning the comparisons and character development and theme....telling myself "It's just the first draft."

Melanie Nilles · Jun 11, 2007

JamieFord said:
My ending is my motivation to finish. I have to have it worked out in my mind because it becomes my motivation to write.

You said it exactly how I feel! I know the beginning and the end. And getting to the ending that I desire is what helps me fill in the middle, but those middles can still slow me down. And the endings can change, depending on what actually happens with everything else, but I generally end up getting to what I expected. Figuring out how to get there is the hardest for me.

Melanie

ChaosTitan · Jun 11, 2007

I love the ending, because it's always a crapshoot for me. Even though I have an idea of the end when I start a new project, the middle of the book is fluid. It changes, and the original end rarely works like I thought.

Even so, I try to keep that ending in my head as I write. It's my motiviation to burn through the middle. I want to finally write that exciting ending.

janetbellinger · Jun 11, 2007

It's the middle I have problems with

Prawn · Jun 11, 2007

Oh! The squishy endless middle!

NeuroFizz · Jun 11, 2007

jerrymouse said:
i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings.

Somehow, I think there is a fourth category.

BardSkye · Jun 11, 2007

Penguin Queen said:
If I dont know what the ending is towards which I am writing, I dont think I oculd finish anything.

I couldn't do that. The same quirk that kept me from running laps in high school ("I've already passed the finish line!") keeps me from doing the ending first. If I've told myself how it ends there's no interest in how it began.

People are weird and wonderful creatures, aren't they?

Claudia Gray · Jun 11, 2007

Endings are my absolute favorite. I know something about my ending before I know that I even have an idea worth writing about, and I generally know the end in some detail before I begin work. That's my carrot on the end of the stick that keeps me going.

There are things about the middle that I love, and things I have, but I genuinely believe that's the toughest section to write well.

Fiendish Writer · Jun 11, 2007

The beginning is the hardest part for me.

Sure, I might slog through the middle, cursing and weeping all the way, but usually I know what is *supposed* to happen. And the ending might shift around from outline to final draft. But except for rare exceptions, it's those first few pages that give me the biggest headaches.

alaskamatt17 · Jun 11, 2007

The endings kill every piece of fiction I try to write (well, I slipped two past, but don't let them know). I don't know why, but none of my endings ever seem even logical, let alone good, when I go back to read the manuscript after shelving it for a while.

I think I'm a middleman.

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